Astra A80/A90/A100 38 Super, magazine question

[lsudave]

Hi, I recently picked up an Astra A90 in very good condition, in 45acp with one mag (and the original Interarms box). I have also added an A100 slide, 9mm recoil spring, 2 magazines for 9mm, and barrels for 9mm and 38 Super (this one from an A80).

• The A80, A90 and A100 slides interchange, and my research says the A100 slides are safer (1 piece slide, with a bushing insert) vs the A90 (2 piece slide- the muzzle piece is a separate piece, brazed or welded to the straight slide, in addition to a bushing insert. A knowledgeable poster on another forum states the 45 caliber has caused failures where the front shears off, and the slide struck the shooter in the face).
• The frame of the A80, A90, and A100 all interchange. A80 has a heel release for mag, A90 has the release by the trigger guard and a spur hammer, A100 has release by the trigger guard and a round hammer.
• The frame and slide for all calibers are the same; the external diameter of the barrels are the same (and quite thick). The magwell is the same size; large enough to hold the bigger rounds. The 45 and 9 mags externally are the same, the 9 has a different follower which pushes the rd slightly to the side, and has a spacer inside towards the rear.
• Despite the A90 (as purchased) being 45acp, and the additional A100 slide being marketed as a 9mm (the seller had the 9mm barrel and recoil spring assembly too, from the same gun), to my visual inspection, the extractor is the same.
• The 45 and 9mm recoil spring assemblies appear very similar, but one is slightly longer (Actually think the 9mm is), and the 45 is a bit stiffer.
• The listed chamberings for the guns are: 9mm Parabellum, 45acp (all models); 7.65 Parabellum, 38 Super (A80 only), 9 Largo I suspect this to be the same barrel as the 38 Super; .40 S&W (A100 only).

So, I have only played with assembly and hand-cycling as of now. I feel like the 9mm and 45 setups are both shootable with a barrel swap, and I greatly want to use the A100 slide instead of the A90 (at least for 45).

My issue, and question- 38 Super.
The internal spacer in the 9mm magazines make the mag a hair too tight to insert 38 Super. The 45 mag is large enough to take that round, but the follower centers the round, which then pops out of the magazine if you try to load more than one. Obvious solution was to swap followers and springs for a 9 and 45 mag, and this seems to mostly work. I loaded 10 rds of 38 Super, they stayed in the mag even when I smacked the mag around some, slapping it against my hand. They hand cycle for me. The only problem I'm noting, is that the follower is not quite as long as the magazine, and the last round gets stuck= the rim will get hung up in the rear, between the magazine and follower.

These magazines are doublestack and made for Astra by Mecgar, and of the quality you'd expect from that maker. The 9mm capacity is listed as 17, I didn't try but can easily put 15 in. The 45acp capacity is 9, as the round has a bigger diameter, and it's not quite doublestack, instead they stagger around inside. The A90 and A100 mags fit in all, the A80 mags are only set up for a heel release and don't have the notch required for a trigger guard release (a simple dremel cut would fix that). They are hard to find and pricey- I was very fortunate to get the 9mms for $25 apiece, they list online for closer to $90, and the 45's are $40.
I've looked, you can find 9mm and 45. Might be some 40's. Good luck on the rest. I've read on some forums that the 40 cal mags can run 9mm, so those would be interchangeable. My assumption is that 7.65 parabellum would fit in the 9mm mags due to the dimensions.

Suggestions for the 38 Super mag? I'm looking around online, the only mention of a 38 Super mag is whatever listed with a gun in that chambering. I checked Numrich and a couple other sites I've used for parts, hoping to find at least a follower- no luck.

What I'm leaning towards is to see if someone with a 3D printer, will make a replacement. The 9mm follower works, would just need to be lengthened. I suppose another option would be to attempt to add a mm or so with JB Weld or similar, to the rear of the follower. If that works, I'd then look at knocking the spacer out of the 9mm magazines, and use the extended follower.

If you have any other suggestions, please post them.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Could you epoxy a shim to the inner spine surface of the magazine body?

 

[lsudave]

Could you epoxy a shim to the inner spine surface of the magazine body?

I'm assuming you mean follower body?
I think I could.

The 45 acp mag follower is metal, flat, like a big 1911 milspec follower. The 9mm followers are plastic, with a hump that pushes the round to the side, like your basic CZ or Beretta follower...

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

If it's just the 9mm magazine liner strip. You can get thinner plastic stock at hobby lobby and just trim and lightly sand to length and thickness?????

 

[lsudave]

If it's just the 9mm magazine liner strip

It's not even that.

The A80/A90/A100 has a "one size fits all" frame and slide. In order to accomodate 45acp (and 38 Super), the magwell is long enough to fit them. As I understand, MecGar made their magazines, and externally they are the same piece of stamped sheet metal. Typical base plate with a hole that slides on it, spring retainer plate with a tab that locks into the hole. My 45 acp magazine then has a flat metal follower, similar to a milspec 1911 metal follower but sized appropriately, that slides within the magazine body.

The 9mm magazine body is the same, but has a small metal piece attached to the internal rear, that allows for a shorter 9mm follower (which is plastic). The feed lips appear to be the same, the 9mm follower has a hump on one side (like an AR follower) so the round is NOT centered, and thus doesn't pop out.

The spacer is thin, and hollow. It doesn't appear to be a structural support, but instead just adjusts the internal dimensions. If you've ever seen a Tokarev, and then seen a mag for 9mm (not the Norinco 213 where the spacer is in the magwell, but the T-54 where there's a spacer inside a milspec magazine), it's the same concept.

Re the Tokarev mag- I have found that I can shoot 9x19 out of a standard x25 mag, even though the bullets aren't all aligned. I also have a Star Super B where they don't even bother with a spacer, the mags can take either 9x23 Largo or 9x19 Luger. I'm pretty comfortable that a 38 Super mag (same rough dimensions as a 9 Largo, smaller than the Tok x25), would feed 9x19 Luger without issue in this Astra, so I'd be interested in removing that spacer (basically making the mag body a 45/38 Super body), and getting the appropriate size follower so the last round doesn't hang up.

Mentioning the AR mag... I wonder if an AR follower might be a starting point?

Ahhh.... like I said, it's a basic MecGar mag, doublestack, that I want a 38 Super follower for.
Doesn't Tanfoglio make a doublestack Witness in that caliber? Does anyone sell magazine parts for them? Maybe the follower from one of those might fit?